Just before 7 a.m. Friday morning, firefighters were dispatched to a report of smoke at 109 North Pine St. in downtown Nevada City. The second and third floors of the building were filled with smoke, so they took a look in Friar Tuck’s restaurant.

Nevada County saw a groundswell of anger over transients and crime presumed to be connected to the transient population in 2014. Amid numerous complaints and calls for service, Grass Valley developed a strategic plan for dealing with chronic offenders.

The old HEW building, just outside Nevada City, has been abandoned for years, since it was decommissioned by the county in 2005, and an ambitious proposal to turn the property into a condo community stalled out after its sale in 2011.

10:06 a.m. — A caller on the 15000 block of Little Valley Road asked to speak with an officer regarding a potential fraud case after she received a number of letters in the mail notifying her that someone had attempted to open up a line …

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Major injuries reported after solo collision on Highway 49

Two people were injured, one of them seriously, after a single vehicle collision on Highway 49 Wednesday.

At approximately 4:10 p.m., dispatchers were notified that a white SUV or possibly a silver Oldsmobile had gone off the road into a ditch ­— possibly hitting a tree. Incident logs show that …

A group of activists protesting the use of animal products at Fur Traders in Nevada City might have drawn more attention than they wanted last Sunday, when a group of apparent counter-protesters arrived on scene to demonstrate against the anti-fur demonstration.

Staci Sanders and Jody Hanson, who organized the anti-fur …

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Roughly 7,500 customers without power

Update: Spokesperson Brittany McKannay said that PG&E has reduced the number of customers without power due today’s outage from roughly 7,500 in multiple towns to just 230 customers in Penn Valley.

“We are hoping to get all those customers restored by early evening,” McKannay said. “We have a crew on …

When Nevada City Council member Evans Phelps ran for office unopposed, she said that one of her first orders of business would be to see about adding seating to Robinson Plaza — a small park at the base of Commercial Street in the heart of the downtown area’s historic business …

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Nevada City trying to avoid litigation over Kendall House B&B

It’s been six weeks since a San Francisco lawyer served the City of Nevada City with a letter threatening to file litigation on behalf of a group called Friends of Nevada City.

“If the City would like to discuss options for avoiding time consuming and costly litigation, please let Friends …

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Batten down: Biggest storm in years closing in

Public works and emergency services personnel all across the North State are preparing for a major storm making landfall on the coast today. Here in the Sierra foothills, experts are expecting the storm to arrive sometime after midnight, early Thursday morning.

Mayor Dan Miller, who was recently elected Third District Supervisor, stepped down from the Grass Valley City Council Tuesday night after a total of 16 years of service to the city. Vice-Mayor Jason Fouyer was later sworn in for his second term.

Shortly after Fouyer took his oath of office …

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Pioneer Park all over Nevada City Council agenda

This Wednesday is the last regularly scheduled Nevada City Council meeting of 2014. Items on the agenda includes several issues pertaining to the city’s parks, as well as a review of ordinances in other small California cities restricting the presence of franchise, big box or “formula” businesses.

Pioneer park will …

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Advanced EMT program now ‘up and running’ at Grass Valley Fire Department

Grass Valley firefighters are now able to render a higher level of medical aid for people suffering asthma attacks, allergic reactions and other common medical emergencies. Firefighters on medical calls will be able to start an IV or administer emergency medications like albuterol, dextrose, epinephrine and nitroglycerin.

That will make …

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New mayor for Grass Valley, Fouyer swearing in for second term

Tuesday night, during this year’s last meeting of the Grass Valley City Council, a new mayor and vice-mayor will be selected. The council will also swear in successful incumbent Jason Fouyer for his second term.

The city’s Department of Public Works will also have a number of items on the …

8:16 a.m. — A caller on the 100 block of Sparrow Creek asked animal control to pick up a cat that “may have gone crazy last night and is now locked in (the) bathroom.”

3:29 p.m. — A caller on Commercial Street in Nevada City …

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Gold Country zombie apocalypse show in the works

An upstart production company here in Grass Valley is working on “Dead Salvation,” a Web-based zombie show with a twist.

The characters will be fighting their way through the zomb-ocalypse without the benefit of weapons — because the characters are martial artists.

“It basically starts with them training for mixed …

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Lamphier postpones getting sworn in to Grass Valley City Council

Tuesday night, the city of Grass Valley will hold a swearing-in ceremony for incumbent vice-mayor Jason Fouyer, who won his bid for re-election in November. Supervisor Terry Lamphier, however, has declined to be sworn in at next week’s ceremony.

Instead, he’ll remain on the Nevada County Board of Supervisors until …

The United Way has partnered with more than 25 local businesses to collect blankets and sleeping bags, helping the homeless keep warm this winter. They’re also taking donations of warm socks, thermal underwear and other cold-weather gear.

“We first contacted some of the local groups, Sierra Roots and Hospitality House, …

Downtown Nevada City’s annual holiday celebration, Victorian Christmas, will be taking place on Wednesdays and Sundays throughout December — but there’s a new schedule. This year the lineup includes an additional Sunday, and one less Wednesday.

“We took a survey of the merchants last year and there were just three …

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Help for pets of the homeless

For someone homeless and living outdoors, having a dog around can provide a sense of security. Having a dog in your tent can also make a big difference for someone trying to stay warm at night this time of year, and they’re good company, too.

The 47th annual Cornish Christmas celebration kicked off Friday. Julia Jordan, executive director of the Grass Valley Downtown Association, said that for downtown business owners, this tends to be a bellwether for the rest of the holiday shopping season.

An estimated 2,500 runners and walkers gathered on the football field at Nevada Union High School Thursday morning to raise money for charity and honor the memory of a Nevada County man who took his own life.

Grass Valley’s Public Works Department may be creating a number of new jobs to its organizational structure, including two supervisorial positions, pending the city council’s approval. Tim Kiser, public works director, says the reorganization will address budgetary concerns and manpower allocation shortages.

John Edward Curtis, owner of Grass Roots Property Management, died in an abalone diving accident near Sea Ranch on Nov. 19. According to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, the incident is still under investigation.

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Changes to Nevada City camping ordinance could mean jail for repeat offenders

Nevada City has strengthened the enforcement provisions in its camping ordinance, based on advice from the Nevada County District Attorney. City officials hope the change will lower police and public works costs associated with illegal campsites.

“They had referred a couple of camping ordinance violations to my office for potential …

The long-vacant Alpha Building in Nevada City’s downtown historic business district is on a parcel that includes the Three Forks restaurant building and two other Commercial Street addresses — but not for much longer.

Thursday afternoon, the Nevada City Planning commission approved a new tentative map that puts Three Forks …

With winter weather finally setting in, there were two separate spot fires in Grass Valley Tuesday. According to Grass Valley Interim Fire Chief Mark Buttron, both incidents appeared to be human-caused, and both incidents occurred in the vicinity of known transient encampments.

“The last couple of winters we’ve seen an …

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City of Grass Valley launches new website

Last week, the City of Grass Valley implemented a new build on its website. It looks different, but there are also some noteworthy new features that have been added.

Gary Gustafson of New Press Websites , a Nevada City Web design firm, said this project has been in the works …

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Nevada City, American Rivers team up to prevent wildfires

The city of Nevada City and American Rivers, a national nonprofit with local offices, are working together to clean up 45 acres of city property along Deer Creek known as The Environs. They’ll be removing invasive species and clearing ladder fuels that could lead to catastrophic wildfire — but both …

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Dogged by inconsistency: Nevada City to amend ordinance governing dogs in public places

In Nevada City, it’s technically illegal to bring a dog onto public spaces like the boardwalk, Calanan Park or Robinson Plaza, even though dog owners can walk their dogs between the boardwalk and adjacent businesses.

“That seems odd, doesn’t it,” said Evans Phelps, the latest addition to the Nevada City …

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Sedan crashes into tree line on Highway 49

Officers from the California Highway Patrol and Grass Valley Police Department responded to a single-vehicle collision Tuesday afternoon on Highway 49 between McKnight Way and Empire Street. Greg Tassone, a public information officer with the CHP, said a large volume of calls started coming in at about 1:16 p.m.

An ambitious plan to hang terrazzo lighting over Mill Street for the holiday season will not be going forward after all. The Grass Valley Downtown Association had been quietly working on the project in preparation for the holiday shopping season, but found that the cost and work involved might exceed …

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The lights are on in Nevada City

Officers from the Grass Valley Police Department met with business owners from the Brockington Manor shopping center, which includes the Neal Street Safeway, KJ’s Pizza and the Flour Garden, Monday morning.

General consensus in the room was that the area’s reputation was adversely affecting business at those and other stores. …

A hiker sustained serious injuries just outside Nevada City Wednesday afternoon when he stepped onto a rock ledge on the Deer Creek Tribute Trail, and it collapsed underneath him. Jim Smith, acting battalion chief for Nevada County Consolidated Fire, said the victim had to be extracted by helicopter.

“The gentleman …

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Nevada County veterans tell their war stories

Hundreds of Nevada County residents packed into Grass Valley’s Veterans Memorial Building Auditorium Tuesday morning for the Veterans Day program, hosted by American Legion Frank Gallino Post 130. Both keynote speakers were veterans of the Vietnam war.

After years of planning, preparation and construction, the Dorsey Drive Interchange opened to through traffic Monday morning. The traffic signals were on, as signified by a blinking red light, though not yet fully functional until mid-morning.

“The interchange is open and Caltrans is completing the timing and video detection adjustments,” …

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Nevada County vets happy with VA care, but driving to it is a problem

National news coverage of veteran’s issues in 2014 has been dominated by scandal, with veterans forced to endure unacceptably long delays when seeking care. In some cases, VA buildings have been literally sinking under the weight of their unprocessed paperwork.

According to the Associated Press, VA Secretary Robert McDonald recently …

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$5 million energy contract on Grass Valley City Council agenda